Madison County is named for James Madison, who was the fourth President of the United States of America.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Carroll County
E – Carroll County and Newton County
S – Johnson County, Franklin County and Crawford County
W – Washington County and Benton County
Created: September 30, 1836
County Seat:
Huntsville 1836 – present
County Courthouse – Huntsville
Location: 201 West Main Street / Hughes Street
Built: 1938 – 1939
Style: Art Deco
Architect: T Ewing Shelton and E Chester Nelson
Contractor: R A Hughes
Description: The building faces north and is a three story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Huntsville. The north front has three central entrances on the first story. On the second and third stories are vertical windows. The roof line is flat. The interior has a “T” shaped hallway with ten inch gray colored marble squares on the first story. The walls are white colored plaster with gray colored wainscoting. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located along the north side of the second story. Behind the bench is a wooden coffered panel with beaded detail. Wood coffered wainscoting runs around the room. The roof line is flat. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 4th Judicial Circuit.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Madison County Courthouse
History: The county was created in 1836 and Huntsville was selected as the county seat. The court met in a barn in 1836. The first courthouse was a log structure built in 1839 at a cost of $150. The second courthouse was a two story brick structure built by Evan S Polk in 1845 at a cost of $4,000 and the courthouse burned in 1863. The third courthouses was designed by John Carroll and Charles Richmond and built in 1869 to 1871 at a cost of $16,000 and the courthouse burned in 1879. The fourth courthouse was a two story brick structure built by W A Gage in 1881 at a cost of $3,000. The courthouse burned in 1902. The fifth courthouse was a native stone structure constructed in 1905 at a cost of $15,000. The sixth and present courthouse was constructed in 1938 at a cost of $90,000.
County Courthouse – Huntsville
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2011Images
Images 12*